Cuba mourns death of prominent writer Francisco Lopez Sacha

 HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 17 (ACN) Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Cuban President, mourned the death on Sunday in Havana of the outstanding Cuban writer, essayist and critic Francisco Lopez Sacha at 74.

The president patented on X. "Very sad with the death of the beloved professor Lopez Sacha. It was a privilege to listen to him in meetings with Cuban intellectuals at the Palace of the Revolution."

"We will miss his lucidity, his precise word, his commitment. Farewell. Hugs to his family and friends," he said.

"How much pain!... We are missing not only one of our most brilliant intellectuals, to whom the previous Fair (Havana International Book Fair) was dedicated, but one of the most beloved. He was the joy, a dear friend," wrote in the same social network, the Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso.

For his part, Abel Prieto, president of Casa de las Americas, also mourned the loss and in that social network described the news as terrible.

"Great storyteller, essayist, teacher, loyal, laughing, tender, it was impossible not to love him. From Casa de las Americas we send our condolences to his family, friends and readers, you will always be with us, brother!

The Cuban Writers and Artists Association stated on its Facebook page that the work of the beloved Cuban storyteller is marked by a profound exploration of the human condition, art and identity.

It stressed that "With his death this February 16, Cuban culture loses one of its most lucid and passionate voices".

Born in the eastern city of Manzanillo in 1950, Lopez Sacha graduated in Literature from the University of Oriente, in Santiago de Cuba, and for 13 years he was professor of Theatrical Thought at the University of the Arts in Havana.

He was for several years president of the Association of Writers, the Cuban Writers and Artists Association, deputy director of the Onelio Jorge Cardoso Literary Training Workshop and director of the Letras Cubanas magazine.

Some of his books, stories and essays have been translated into German, Italian, Portuguese, English and Russian.

His bibliography includes titles such as La division de las aguas (The Division of the Waters), El cumpleaños del fuego (The Birthday of Fire), Analisis de la ternura (Analysis of Tenderness), Dorado mundo (Golden World), Pastel flamante (Flaming Cake), El que va con la luz (The One Who Goes with the Light) and Prisioneros del rock and roll (Prisoners of Rock and Roll), among others.

In 1994 he also published Fabula de ángeles (Fable of Angels), an anthology of new Cuban storytellers, and in 1996 La Isla Contada (The Told Island), the contemporary Cuban tale, which had two editions in Spain, one in Portugal, another in Brazil, and another in Italy.